I have been experimenting with the four types of activities on this site for a while now, and been fortunate enough to watch many teachers use them with their classes. The following represents the best advice I have for ensuring these sequences of questions and examples are as effective as possible:
1. Do the sequence yourself first
This is super important for a number of reasons. Most importantly it allows you to get a sense of the elements that the author intends to draw students’ attention to. Just giving students these sequences of questions will not magically make them thoughtful mathematicians. The teacher has a crucial role to play. It is only by working through the sequence yourself can you fully understand the underlying structure. Likewise, when doing the sequence you may come across things you don’t like – jumps that are too big, questions that don’t make sense. Working through the sequence yourself gives you the opportunity to spot these, and make changes before the lesson, rather than when you are in the midst of things.
2. Get a colleague to do the sequence
You are likely to have a different experience to your students when you do the activity. Hence, to reduce the chances of being caught off-guard, ask a colleage to do the activity and then discuss your experiences. Where was their attention drawn? What did they not like about the sequence? What improvements would they suggest? What questions would they ask? This is a great activity to do in a departmental meeting.
3. Plan at least two points in the sequence to discuss
This is only effective if you have done the activity yourself, and is incredibly valuable. Decide what are the two most important features that you wish to draw students’ attention to. Be explicit about what you are going to say to your students, what questions you are going to ask. How are you going to explain it if students do not come up with the answer themselves? Of course., you can discuss as many apsects as you like, and your decisions will change as you respond to what happens in the classroom. But, I have certainly found that having two points to focus on – kind of like goalposts – is a useful part of the planning process.
4. Explain to your students why you are doing this
I try to explain to my students why we are doing the things we are doing. I talk about the importance of reflecting, and of the Hypercorrection Effect. I talk about the need to explain, convince and argue (referencing the increased focus on these skills in the GCSEs where appropriate). I constantly bang-on about the importance of thinking hard to make things stick. And after a while, my students start to believe it.
5. Model the first relationship
The behaviour of Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain is likely to be alien to most students. It is not their natural way of answering questions. So, I always start off a sequence by discussing the relationship between questions 1 and 2 together. We Reflect together, then try to form expectations, then work out the answer, and then pause again to try to explain the result. This initial support is crucial, and can be aided by sharing with students the various prompt cards I have included on each sequence-type page: Practice, Rule, Pattern, Demonstration
6. Reflect on how the lesson went
This is super obvious, but it is something I often forget to do, or leave it until later when I have forgotten. Have the sequence of questions printed out, and during the lesson make brief notes as to what worked and what didn’t, interesting comments that students made, ideas students had for continuing the sequence. These will prove invaluable for when you try the activity again.
7. Try creating a sequence yourself
Once you have used a few of these sequences and got the hang of what works and what does not, then try to create one yourself. I believe there is something so valuable in breaking a skill or concept down, and trying to write an intelligently varied sequence of questions to focus students’ attention on the critical aspects. Again, this is something that words really well when done with a colleague. I would advise choosing the same specific skill or concept, decide on the same starting point, writing a sequence of, say, 10 questions on your own , and then comparing what you have both come up with. The conversations that follow as teachers justify their choices and learn from each other are some of the most positive and fruitful I have seen.
And if you do create an sequence yourself, or modify an existing one, please share it 🙂
8. Don’t give up
The successful adoption of anything new takes time – both for you and your students. If the first time you try one of these activities it is a disaster, don’t give up. If it is a disaster the third time you do it, don’t give up. Reflect on what is working and what is not working, but stick at it. This will likely require big change for your students – I know it did for mine. The process of Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain did not come naturally. Some students don’t want to reflect and expect, and some don’t want to check. I have found that explaining why we are doing this, lavishing praise on the students who are carrying out the process, and persisting so this becomes a part of students’ routines, all serve to increase the chance of success.
And for more Top Tips for getting the most out of the sequences of questions and examples on the site, please consider:
- Taking my online courses on Intelligent Practice or Atomisation
- buying my book: Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain.
