To improve memory recall through spaced retrieval.
Maths and English - Apprenticeships
What is the project?
Why are you doing this?
How are you going to do this?
Wider reading, and further planning
Having decided on my ARC project, I undertook some wider reading and came across Rosenshine’s (2010) Principles of Instruction. In this article, he presents 10 research-based principles that he believes can lead to more effective learning.
Principle 1 & 2 were of particular interest to me, as they matched closely with my idea of using spaced retrieval. They state:
1. Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning: Daily review can strengthen previous learning and can lead to fluent recall.
2. Present new material in small steps with students practice after each step: Only present small amounts on new material at any time, and then assist students as they practice this material.
(adapted from Rosenshine, 2010:2-3)
Example 'Exit Ticket' resources
Student feedback
Student feedback was gathered through the Google Form questionnaires in April 2018. Below is a sample from some of the answers that students gave.
Some students also offered more detailed written feedback on the use of exit tickets in their maths and English lessons:
Shekinah Mamba
I think that the exit ticket is really helpful because it helps me remember the stuff that we learnt from out last lesson and helps keep my brain refreshed for our next lesson. No negative however we get limited time to answer our questions we could do with a bit more time to answer our questions.
Narinder Kaur
I am starting to feel comfortable with the exit ticket as it has questions on it that I can remember and it also repeats questions too which is helpful too. I still do need help with certain areas in maths but the ticket does help as I can look back at some of the questions
Laila Shah
I think that the exit ticket is very helpful as it summarises what you have done during that lesson and it shows you what you have remembered and what you have not remembered. This also helps our teacher understand our weaknesses and strengths on different topics. I also like the fact that we have really short questions which keep our head going knowing that it is short and simple.
On the other hand I think the timing is very short we should have at least 10 mins because we need time to do working out and calculating.
Tutor reflections (June 2018)
What movitated you to use Exit Tickets in your class?
We started using exit tickets as we had noticed that many students were unable to retain mathematical knowledge over time. Although they had once had certain skills and abilities, methods were not retained in the long term memory to retrieve when needed. By continuously revisiting key topics and testing key skills, it was hoped that more knowledge would be retained.
What was the most high impact action and why?
We have adapted the exit tickets during the year and they have started to evolve. One of our tutors now gives them for homework as a crib sheet – they must learn the 5/6 terms/skills/formulae before next lesson.
Exit tickets have had a positive impact as they improve knowledge of mathematical concepts and repeatedly test skills. They are also an excellent formative assessment method to identify individual strengths and areas for improvement. To improve, we might need to differentiate within levels once student needs have been identified, however, at present, it has worked well to have a L1 and and L2 option only.
What are your plans for next year?
Next year we will continue to use the spaced retrieval strategy as a means to improve memory retention over progressively longer intervals of time. We intend creating a bank of exit tickets and crib sheets for all three functional skills - maths, English and ICT.
References
Rosenshine, B. (2010) Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know. American Educator, 36(1) pp. 12-19.
Full text accessible here: