#63 Challenge students to think of a correct answer that no-one else will think of
This tweak supercharges the Give an Exmaple framework
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💡 A tip to try in class this week 💡
In the last few years, I have become a fan of Learner-Generated Examples. In my Tips for Teachers book, I describe three frameworks I use to enable students to generate their own examples, which gives me powerful insight into their understanding.
One such framework is called Give an Example of. Up until a few weeks ago, it looked like this:
Give an example of…
The top two boxes challenge students to generate multiple examples instead of just one. The bottom two boxes are designed to encourage students to generate boundary examples - in other words, examples right on the edge of what is and what is not true. Boundary examples reveal the depth of a student’s understanding and can draw out key misconceptions.
The problem I found, however, was students did not know what the bottom-left box meant. “What do you mean by interesting, sir?” “I don’t find any fractions interesting!” And so on.
So, I made a tweak:
This is much clearer. Students enjoy the challenge aspect, and as a result, this works much better in generating the kinds of examples that show how much students understand.
Once students have filled in all four boxes, I ask them to swap with their partner who then checks them. They place a tick if they are happy the example is in the correct box, and a question mark if they are unsure. We then discuss any examples labelled with a question mark as a class, as you can be sure these are the very examples right at the boundary of a concept and thus worthy of further investigation.
What do you think of this idea?
What would you need to change to make this tip work for you?
When could you try it for the first time?
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🏃🏻♂️Before you go, have you… 🏃🏻♂️
… tried last week’s tip about planning follow-up questions in advance?
… read my latest Eedi newsletter about the power of asking What if?
… listened to my latest podcast with Kris Boulton about Atomisation?
… read my Tips for Teachers book?
… considered booking some CPD, coaching or maths department support?
Tried it with my 4th grade son, it pushed him to think. Thank you.