#64 If you wrote this, put your boards down

Use this tip to improve data collection with mini-whiteboards

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💡 A tip to try in class this week 💡

Long-time readers will know that I love a mini-whiteboard. However, it can be challenging to take in the data of 30 boards in front of you in the few seconds usually allocated for such a check for understanding.

There are a few things you can do to help such as:

1. Control the flow of information - ask for the students on the back row to show you their boards first, then the next row, and so on

2. Reduce the amount of data to be processed - only ask students to show you the final answer or a single step in a solution

I saw another approach during a recent school visit. Students were asked to multiply the brackets (2x + 5)(3x + 2) using the grid method. The teacher reduced the amount of data to be processed by asking for each term in the grid one at a time. When he asked students what should go in the top-left square of the grid, he was met by several answers. In such circumstances, it would be easy to miss an answer or two despite reducing the amount of data to be processed. But the teacher did something smart. Every time he wrote an answer he could see on his board, he asked any students who had also written that answer to put their boards down.

This further reduced the amount of data to be processed, and meant that he could spot and subsequently address each of the four answers in the room.

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… 🏃🏻‍♂️

1. … tried last week’s tip about challenging students to think of a peculiar example?

2. … read my latest Eedi newsletter about how confidence scores can increase learning?

3. … listened to my latest podcast with Kris Boulton about Atomisation?

4. … read my Tips for Teachers book?

5. … considered booking some CPD, coaching or maths department support?

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