I have tried something new-old. It’s new because it’s a different way, but it’s old because most teachers do this anyway: retrieval practice. I stumbled upon a post by Kate Jones (@87history) about ‘Retrieval Practice Grids’ and I really liked the way she set this up.
I made my own for my VCE French Revolution class. You can download the PPT/handout here, it contains the grid (made with Smart Art) which you change to suit your needs.
Activities like these have worked well in my class, students respond positively. It works like an amped-up version of think-pair-share. The 10 – 15 minute of individual thinking time forces each student to rely on their own thinking first, and the pair-share element allows them to check, correct and consolidate their knowledge. The point element adds a hint of competition to it.
Handout here: Retrieval Practice 1792 Adcock Readings
This is Kate Jones‘ post about Retrieval Practice Challenge Grids:
Cult of Pedagogy is always a great place for new teaching ideas and educational research:
Retrieval Practice: The Most Powerful Learning Strategy You’re Not Using
I have written about a form of retrieval practice before: interleaving practice versus blocking:
http://thinkedu.net/blog/the-forgetting-curve-interleaving-vs-blocking/