Effective Teaching

In this episode, Dan provides 5 ways to move ideas into long-term memory.5 ways to move ideas into long-term memory is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/6EmjxpuDslYShow notes3 Systems of MemorySensory - very short 1-3 secondsWorking - 4-8 items at a time 5-20 secondsLong-term - limitless capacityLong TermA major reason for forgetting is failure to L in the first placeThe more knowledge you have the easier it is to learn - remember we are masters and students are not!Long Term memory requires efficient coding & easy accessIt is easier to shift from working to long term if the content has meaning and relates to prior knowledge - The biggest predictor of what you can learnStrategy 1: ChunkingChunk (group related ideas together)Our brain likes ideas to be ordered and structured. Bringing similar or related ideas together as they are presented helps students store it in their long term memoryStrategy 2: Rehearsalrepeat, refresh, reciteGo over the idea/sProvide opportunity to apply and check work, use summaries, go through flashcards etcStrategy 3: ImageryNot just showing an image, though this helpsDo a visualisation, can be as basic as visualising the numbers written on a wallInfographicsVisual walks are used by many memory experts.Strategy 4: MnemonicsThey are any memory device Most often though for making a word that brings together multiple ideaseg) CRIME - chunking, rehearsal, imagery, mnemonics and elaborationStrategy 5: ElaborationThis is when you add meaning that clarifies the relationship between information to-be-learned and related information, i.e., a learner's prior knowledge and experienceWe can use input information as a trigger to recall knowledge, such as the peg system where you use pre memorised words to link with new information. This is also a type of mnemonic and is easy to do by rhyming words with numberseg) The peg system. 1-bun, 2-shoe, 3-tree.  Visible Learning and the Science of How we Learn By John Hattie and Gregory YatesLeave a comment below and tell me how you have increased your students' motivation to learn

In this episode, Dan provides 5 easy ways to increase student motivation in your classroom..5 Ways to Increase Student Motivation to Learn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/Yx8-iJKTCHUShow notesSetting ExpectationsSetting high expectations is the beginning.If you expect more and expect better it makes you as the teacher become motivational. You do more to help and guide and students respond to this… It motivates them to achieve for you!EgExpecting students to structure their paragraphs correctly and plan their essays results in more students doing this. It also results in you reminding them more setting time aside to help them get this done, teaching it to them explicitly all resulting in greater student motivation to get this done and this results in greater revelation of their understanding.Prior SuccessHattie and Yates cover this well in their book “Visible Learning and the science of how we learn" which is a book I highly recommend.The idea here applies to situations that students begin to find difficult and frustrating or maybe even just as you introduce content. At this point you remind the student of a similar time when they had similar new content or were similarly stuck and frustrated, but overcame it and successfully learnt something new or created a fantastic product.eg)Struggling to get started with a story, or long essay. Remind them of the last time they had a similar issue and ask them how they overcome this issue to produce something last time.AuthenticityBy connecting things to the real world you are providing meaning to the learning for your students. Providing meaning and showing them how what they are learning applies to real life you increase their motivation and help them to want to learn.E.g.Having students create food plans for their family for a week or 2 that is both healthy and within their own budget. Success pathMake sure they know where they are going, and what it looks like when they get there.Learning goals, success criteria and examples all improves student motivation as they can see where they are going.Start with Why?What is the point?If students don't know why they are learning something why would they bother learning itOften connecting your learning goals with authenticity will help to provide the why, but without it the how and the what are no good.It is about persuasion and to persuade you must address the why!Have funMake the learn it fun! If something is boring it reduces motivation and learning.Biggest negative effect size from Hattie.So, find ways to make it a game, or something to make what they are doing and how they are doing it fun.Visible Learning and the Science of How we Learn By John Hattie and Gregory YatesLeave a comment below and tell me how you have increased your students' motivation to learn

In this episode, Dan explains what a pivot task is and how to use one.What is a Pivot Task? is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/hrYFYA6yiakShow notesIt is a pivot task because it has to be used by the teacher to pivot the lesson.should not take long… 5 minutes maxThey focus on knowledge not higher-order thinking skillsyou want to make it impossible for students to get the right answer for the wrong reasonsThe incorrect answers should be interpretableHow do you do this?ask open ended questionsget verbal answersask for a short demonstration of their understandingCrafting questionslist any misconceptions that are common for the contentwrite answers from the misconceptionwrite questions that will elicit the misconceptiongenerate the answers either for students to choose from or to help you interpret their answersExample 1 - The sound "A" makesMisconception is it makes 2 sounds, but it makes 5So, to identify this we might play various sounds and ask them to identify what sounds can be recorded using the letter “a”.The more correct the better the understanding of the coding processwe could ask how to spell “Talk” and how options such as “Tork”, “Talc”, “Tawk” and “Talk”Example 2 Energy Systemsmisconception is that the ATP/PC system is used first, then the lactic acid system and then the aerobic systemBUT, your body always uses the aerobic system and uses the other systems when they are neededask how the energy systems provide ATP in a football gameDo they tell me that it is one then the other? Do they tell me that the aerobic energy system doesn’t start until 3 min into the sport? ORDo they identify that the systems are all working, but which one provides the most ATP varies according to the intensityIt is very important that is pivot task is plannedThe answers to the task should change what happens for the rest of the lessonIf correct then you move onto higher order thinking activitiesIf not, go back and reteach it and help them, but in a different way. The pivot task should lead to differentiationLeave a comment below and tell me how you are going to pivot your students' learning

In this episode, Dan explains how to connect your learning goals and inquiry based learning.How to connect your learning goals and inquiry based learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/mIWSU_OlQCcShow notesResearchJohn HattieDylan WilliamGrant Wiggins and Jay McTigheLearning GoalsEpisode 1 is all about the importance of learning goals:You need to know where you are going in order to know how to get there.Business coach talks about setting destinations and then building the tracks to get there.So when we create learning we start with the goal and identify sub-goals which build together to achieve the larger goal.ExampleI want students to be able to apply the principles of training appropriately for 3 or more different sports. I break it down to:Understand the principles of trainingUnderstand different types and methods of trainingBreak down sports to identify the relevant types of training for the sport etcInquiry-Based LearningInquiry Based Learning is all about asking questions. These come from the teacher and the student.You can get more information from episode 37 that looks at critical inquiry based learningSo, when we bring them together we are essentially converting our goals into questions and our sub-goals into sub-questions.ExampleIf I had a goal for my students to be able to promote their health and the health of others during the coronavirus pandemic. My questions might be: How might we promote our own health and the health of others amidst the coronavirus pandemic?A sub-goal may have been to be able to evaluate health statistics and understand data, graphs and charts that communicate epidemiologyMy sub-question then might look like: How might we use epidemiology to identify health priorities and determine the risk of the coronavirus?Student QuestioningFor inquiry based learning I also want my students asking questions, so, I might use a wonder wall, or a know, wonder, learn chart.Even a simple question such as “what do we need to know in order to answer this question?” will get students asking more questions.They may even do so without thinkingMy StudentsThis week 2 of my students were doing some research into coronavirus and I was talking to them about them asking questions that helps to guide their own learning and research.They both said they didn’t have any questions… But in fact that did, but they had already done the research and answered them. They had wondered about the % of people who had the disease in multiple countries and calculated itThey had then calculated the risk of dying from the disease once you had it.They were both blown away by how low these numbers were and how low the risk was, which made them then ask “why it had been made a health priority?”And that was exactly the question I wanted them to ask and then lead them to looking at our response to new viruses, comparing coronavirus with CVD and cancer, and thinking about the different types of diseases.It was fantastic, but they hadn’t even noticed because they had gotten into the “flow” of learning and were deeply engaged and interested.But, this did not just happen. It was crafted through the design of the learning.There were goals, which were turned into questions which caused them to begin to ask more questions.This is what I wantI want my students to learn without knowing that is what they are doing.To enjoy it, to be focused and engaged to the point where they don’t realise they are learning all on their own… and enjoying it! Having those moments where their minds are blown and they wonder why? And how?This WeekIdentify your learning goals, craft them.Then turn them into questions and ask your students what they already know and what they will need to know in order to answer the question.Record their statements and questions and build inquiry into your students’ learning.

In this episode, Dan explains the importance of student reflection as a meta-cognitive strategy that helps developing lifelong learners.How you can improve student reflection for learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/FjQAjtH10ugShow notesAll about meta-cognition Improves understanding of how we learn Helps identify successful strategies Provides feedback Needs to be taughtMakes them owners of their learningMeta-cognition means... Knowing what you know Knowing what you can do Knowing what you know about your own abilities…. Growth mindset can help with what they think about their abilities… these can grow and change like everything elseTypes of reflective questions Comprehension Qs - what kind of problem is this? Strategic Qs - How could I solve this? Connection Qs - how does the current problem relate to previous problemsHelping Student Reflect Give them criteria and benchmarks to compare their work against Self assessment Use learning logs: Today I learnt… I was surprised by… The most helpful thing I will take is… I was interested in… What i liked most about the lesson was… 1 thing I’m not sure about is… The main thing I want to find out more about is… After this session I feel… because… I might have gotten more from this lesson if... This is how I will do this...Reflection takes timeBuild the time into your lessons and programsThey are not an add on, but central to the process of learningPut it into practice! Choose a lesson Build in time for student reflection Scaffold this reflection Model it in the lesson for them Use it as formative assessment for you and themLeave a comment and let me know how it goes

In this episode, Dan highlights the importance of student voice and choice to enhance student engagement and provides 10 strategies you can use to increase student voice and choice in your classroom.10 Ways to Increase Student Voice and Choice in your Classroom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/MVRqUL_s3y8Show notesWhy promote student choice and voiceIncreases engagementProvides more meaningMakes the learning more relevantWhy NOT?We have to teach the outcomes or StandardsWe don’t have timeStudents will choose things I don’t know aboutIt's more workStudent VoiceIs them actively participating in the decision makingCo-design a small unit with them that targets a specific outcome or even the criteria to be used for assessmentGet them to provide you with a series of questions on a topic that they want you to cover - eg) sex edLet them come up with ways to present their understanding that meets the outcomes Let them give you the topic they will examine in meeting the outcomes.Let them give you the due date within your restrictionsGet student feedback:On student workon lessons and units to help guide their revision (preferably build in a pivot)Student ChoiceIs them selecting between various options providedGive students a choice in the content or topic they cover. This can be done through selecting a text of the list or chosing which option to studyProvide students with a various ways they can present their understanding and let them select the one they wantLet students choose who they will work withWhere they will apply their learning. (often found in PBL)This WeekTry one thing each lesson and reflect on how it goesLeave me a comment10 Ways to Include Student Voice and Choice

In this episode Dan discusses the need for students to not only get critical feedback, but to also be given the time to action the feedback and revise their work.Critical Feedback and Revision is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/lFLn0FTkrJ8Show notesHi everyone. Welcome again to another episode of the Effective Teaching podcast, where I provide you with actionable strategies that you can apply to your teaching and learning to enhance student learning and transform them into lifelong learners. I’m Dan Jackson and this week I want to discuss Critical Feedback and RevisionSomething we do not do often enough with our students is allow time for them to get feedback and revise their work, especially for assessment tasks.We think we do by saying submit a draft 1 week before and I will give you feedback… but the reality is that less than 10% of your students probably take you up on this, unless you are from a selective school or only teach extension classes. Regardless, I can guarantee it is not 100% of your class.In my recent study of PBL and creating my own PBL units I love what they do to provide students with feedback that they should action and it is all tied up with public audiences. Or at least one beyond you.Often there are 2 or 3 rounds of feedback and revision in PBL because it follows more of the design process where revision occurs multiple times until the prototype is ready to become an actual product. So for the classroom what this means is that the feedback comes from multiple sources:Another class or group of students could provide feedback using criteria or maybe by answering questions asked by the student who is looking for feedback.Have a mentor (teacher, adult, expert etc) provide feedback using criteria or maybe by answering questions asked by the student who is looking for feedback.Feedback from a wider audience. Maybe a test group if what is being produced can be tested, or from a variety of people NOT the teacher.Throughout this whole process the teacher also has the chance to provide feedback multiple times, but the teacher is not the focus for whom the product is being produced.For example, You could have students write an essay on a specific novel and then share this essay with 3 students from another class who provide feedback answering questions such as:What did you learn from the essay?Was there something you wondered because of the essay?Were there any sections that were difficult to understand? EtcThe student could then revise the essay and publish it on the web or share it into a group on SM where people are familiar with the novel and can provide further insights such as:What perspective did this essay not consider?Is there evidence you know of that would further strengthen or perhaps be used to argue against this essay? EtcIf you set dates for these types of public feedback sessions, students tend to get the “draft” ready by then because otherwise it is embarrassing for them. There is a sense of pride and the removal of a place to hide. But there is also a sense that what they are creating is not just for them and they can begin to see some of the other applications of their product.Whenever you are doing feedback like this having some sort of criteria for the feedback or pre arranged questions to get feedback on can really improve the results of the feedback and the student’s willingness to then revise the product.To help with this I want to refer to a book I have been reading called The New 1-minute Manager. Now there are 3 aspects to the one minute manager each of which takes 1 minute. One of these is called a 1 minute redirect. A 1 minute redirect basically is when the “manager” and in our case this is anyone providing feedback, and I like this approach as a teacher.First they need to mention what they can observe about the product and rel..

In this episode Dan explains what critical inquiry-based learning is and how it can be created in your lessons to develop the skills students need for lifelong learning.What is critical inquiry-based learning? is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/fIwqi2U1J10Show resourcesBecome a member todayFree course Introduction to G-Suite for EducationShow notesHi everyone. Welcome again to another episode of the Effective Teaching podcast, where I provide you with actionable strategies that you can apply to your teaching and learning to enhance student learning and transform them into lifelong learners. I’m Dan Jackson and this week I want to answer the questionWhat is Critical Inquiry Based learningThe word inquiry comes from the Latin enqueren And means to ask questionsIn last week's episode, number 36 I talked about how good questionsstart with How or why rather than what, when or who. Should be personable, using “we” “you” or “our” Relate to your course outcomes, anddraw on central elements to your course or subject area connecting content to life Today I am talking more practically about how to help students ask their own questions and foster enquiry in your classroom.Wonder wallsKnow, wonder, learnWhat I know, what I need to knowThe idea with these is that questions lead to more questions that lead to more questions and the student spirals down a rabbit hole just like any good researcher does as they find and follow the trails of evidence.For example, a student might ask what happened to start world war II, which may lead them to reading old newspaper articles and history books written by Englishmen or Australians. But they then may ask what Germany thought led to the war or America which may lead to new insights. They then may ask how Hitler got into power in the first place and look into the relationship breakdown between Japan and America. This could then lead to more questions and further research as the cycle continues.I want to note here that it is important as the teacher to help bring this inquiry back to the outcomes and content and to ensure a complete tangent does not take over… but as much as you can let the student follow their curiosity.Now to inquire critically means:Students need to know how to search properly - Scholar, advanced Google searches etcInvestigate - follow references, get notified of publicationsInterview - ask the right questionsFind experts - use SM to find relevant people, contact professors at universities etcBe critical - create and use criteria to determine the quality of evidenceTo be critical requires that they can:Tell who has authority on a subject and why?Looking at the person behind the informationIs .gov or .edu good enough, which is better?Consider multiple perspectivesIdentify underlying assumptions Understanding how contextual factors influence perspectives and understandings on contentReflection- identify their own preconceptions and biasesPrinciples that govern inquiry-based learning include:Student centred - instruction,  resources and technology are organized to support them.Learning activities focus on information-processing skills.Teachers coach the learning process, and seek to learn about their students.Emphasis is placed on evaluating information-processing skills and conceptual understanding, NOT JUST the content.Well, that is it for this week. Thanks so much for taking some time out to listen to this episode. If you are enjoying the podcast, please take a moment to leave a review, it will help others find the podcast and decide if they should listen. If you specifically liked this episode, feel free to share it on social media or leave a comment at teacherspd.net/37And finally, I wanted to let you know I have decided that as of Friday 1 May the TeachersPD membership that provides ..

In this episode Dan discusses how the use of problems replicates real world learning and how questions drive inquiry.Using problems and questions to enhance student learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityVideo showhttps://youtu.be/DcSzmJJJtPcShow resourcesRegister for the Free WebinarsRegister for the free course Introduction to G-Suite for EducationShow notesProblems are real world. It is how we approach our own learning.How often do you begin your learning because you have run into a problem. The current biggest problem for educators is the sudden switch the remote learning due to covid -19If you're still struggling with this you can listen to episodes 32 to 34 for my special 3 part interview with Kelly Pfeiffer and if you are using G-Suite for remote learning I have a webinar this Monday the 20th that you can register for here. There will be a link in the show notes at teacherspd.net/36 I have also made my 12.5 hour NESA accredited course “Introduction to G-Suite for Education” free for anyone who is new to using G-Suite. Just go to TeachersPD.netBut, coming back… presenting learning as a problem replicates what learning is like for us, provides some authenticity to the learning and develops lifelong learning skills.Problems develop entrepreneurial skillsI personally own 2 businesses and can testify that owning a business and running a business is all about finding solutions to problems. These problems might be those of my clients that I hope to solve, or to create a product to solve. But they are also problems such as: no-one is coming to my site, they leave after only looking at one page. Or maybe people are having issues logging in, or how do I get my brand in front of my ideal clients…. These are all real problems I have had.Solving problems is how the next big company will be made. Facebook connects people around the world, Google organises the world’s information to make it accessible, and both were born out of a problem that the founders saw and then sought to solve even when others told them it was impossible.So, when you are creating learning in your classroom or at the moment, online. Try and present the learning as a problem to be solved. If you can use a real world problem that students could work on for your subject. egObesity is increasingPandemicsPeople are losing jobsOr maybe you have a local problem they can solve, like how to increase the diversity of flora and fauna at your schoolAdditionally, when you present problems consider things such as:Student choice, which will increase the authenticity and connection to their life and then increase learning and engagementConsider if Students can manage the challenge (don’t restrict them completely, but don’t be unrealistic either)And finally, make sure that the problem you pose relates to your course contentWhen it comes to using questions you are really looking to drive inquiry. Next week I’m going to be talking about all inquiry, so today I really just want to say that questions for inquiry must be non-googlable! That is, the answer should not be straight forward.It should force the students to consider multiple perspectives and multiple sources of information in order to answer it in the manner in which they do.These types of questions tend to relate very closing to presenting problems. For example, you might pose a problem through a question such as:How do we improve our health during isolation?Why do we each respond differently to the same text?How do we know what happened in the past?You will notice with these examples that they all start with how or why and are personable. In order to craft a good question for students learningThey should start with How or why rather than what, when or who. This helps to make them more open ended, open to interpretation and allow greater depth of..

In this episode, Dan interviews Kelly Pfeiffer from Dubbo Distance Education to get advice on remote learning given the current climate around the globe with schools being closed, or needing to close in response to COVID-19.Using Authenticity to Build Student Engagement and Motivation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Join the Facebook CommunityWatch the episode belowhttps://youtu.be/DQrOVzpzHTgShow NotesHi everyone and welcome again to the effective teaching podcast. I’m Dan Jackson and I am very grateful that you are giving me your time to listen to this episode. Recently I changed my podcast structure. I have removed my intro and outro based on some feedback I received and I hope it has improved your listening experience. If so, let me know.I have also decided that I am going to trial recording my episodes as video as well as audio. So if you would like to see me talking away to the computer, please go to teacherspd.net/35 and you can watch this episode as well. I would love to know if this is helpful for you. So please just leave me a comment on the page to let me know.OK.Today I want to talk to you about building authenticity into student learning, which is a great way to increase student motivation and engagement with the learning, which we all know will help students be successful and lead them towards becoming lifelong learners.I thought we should start by just talking a bit about the importance of motivation and engagement. Boredom1 thing that often gets overlooked in research are things that can have a negative impact on student learning. And the number 1 negative influence that can be modified according to research released in 2017 by Hattie is boredom. Hattie’s famous effect size for boredom is negative 0.49. To put this into perspective the hinge point for a teaching strategy being positive is 0.4 so to be negative 0.49 means students are unlearning information.Now I know there are some who have criticised Hattie’s methods, but I think that he hit the nail on the head with this one. We have all seen students in our own or in another teacher’s classroom who is bored and therefore does not engage with anything that is happening. The famous clip from Ferris Bueller's Day Off comes to mind here. “Anyone?”For me student motivation and engagement is the opposite of this. The more a student is motivated and engaged with the learning I think, the larger their learning will be. And one of the best ways to increase this is by building in authenticity to the learning.PBL UnitNow, recently, I have been working hard on creating a couple of Project-based learning units for my school. I have been doing lots of reading and collaborating with others and I’m thankful to Kelly Pfeiffer who has shared many conversations with me over the last few weeks. If you don’t know who Kelly is, she is from Dubbo Distance Ed and was part of the team that put together the Dark Skies Project for Stage 3 students across the whole of NSW, and is an avid PBL teacher.Focus on something currentAs I have been creating these units I have been thinking a lot about how to really ramp up the authenticity of the learning. So, to start with these units focus on the current Coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping around the world and across our country and state. It is already a very current issue for our students and so having our project and our learning focus on this should result in greater engagement and motivation from them. So, this was the start, you know, to use a topic that is current and applicable to our students. This of course could apply to anything you are teaching. Find a way to connect what you are teaching to current events that are relevant to your students. A simple example is to get students to apply their Math skills to the real world. From as basic as calculating the perimeter of the school grounds to measuring the distance and angl..