REVISING / REFERRING TO ALREADY POSSESSED KNOWLEDGE
Theoretical introduction
Spiral syllabus is one of the characteristic features of almost every course/module. As a result, the materials / course content which the students are provided with is often divided into several meetings. That is why, referring to the already possessed knowledge (covered topics) is one of the elements of each class or lecture, as it consolidates students’ knowledge, checks whether the topic has been comprehended, and, finally, introduces a new topic which is related to already discussed material.
It often happens that students do not recognize any connections – ties – between the topics which are covered during classes and treat each lecture or class as a separate unit.
That is why, in the case of classes and lectures which are divided into several meetings, it is crucial for the teacher to implement various techniques, strategies or exercises to realize to the students that the knowledge they have possessed so far is fundamental for further activities.
Exercise I: QUICK REVISION (Variant 1)
Mentimeter
Depending on the type of meeting: (lecture, class, seminar).
Might be introduced at the beginning and/or end of each class
Online / Face-to-face
Synchronous
Quick and effective revision of the material introduced during the previous meeting. The exercise might be also introduced to verify whether the material introduced by the teacher (during the meeting) has been comprehended by the students – on-spot revision. The exercises might as well be introduced during the very first class to check upon students’ knowledge, skills & competencies. It might be a very good warm-up before classes.
The exercise is most effective when the topic/material is divided into several meetings.
It is essential to learn about the functions of Mentimeter, available at www.mentimeter.com
Face-to-face: access to the Internet and mobile devices is required
STEP I
Before the class the teacher prepares a few questions/statements/theses which refer to previous classes or refer to the topic which is going to be introduced.
STEP II
At the beginning of the class, the teacher provides the students with the link to the application and introduces the questions.
STEP III
Students answer the questions.
STEP IV
The teacher and/or students may comment on the answers immediately or as a sum up of the exercise. On the other hand, if the questions/statements refer to the topic which is going to be introduced, the teacher might tell the students that the answers are included in the lecture.
- The teacher may quickly and effectively check students’ knowledge and the perception of information provided during classes.
- The teacher may find/recognize some gaps and students’ problems with understanding the material – it may turn out that some issues/topics will require revision.
- Students may check their progress.
- If the exercise is introduced at the beginning of the lecture, the teacher might receive feedback on students’ knowledge, preparation.
– Teacher might use this exercise to test and grade students’ knowledge
+ The exercise must not be graded; its aim is to realize to the students the progress they have made, and (if introduced at the beginning of the class) the material which is going to be discussed.
– The exercise might be time-consuming
+ The number of questions might be limited; the teacher should select / prepare more general rather detailed questions.
Exercise II: QUICK REVISION (Variant 2)
Mentimeter
Depending on the type of meeting: (lecture, class, seminar);
Variant 2 works best at the beginning of classes
Online/Face-to-face
Synchronous
Quick and effective revision of the material introduced during the previous meeting. In variant 2, it’s the students who are responsible for the preparation of the exercise – they check the knowledge of their peers.
The exercises are most effective when the topic/material is divided into several meetings.
It is essential to explain to the students the functions of Mentimeter, available at www.mentimeter.com
Face-to-face: access to Internet and mobile devices is required
STEP I
At the end of the class the teacher asks students / looks for volunteers, i.e., students who would like to prepare additional homework.
STEP II
If more than 2-3 students are willing to prepare the homework, the teacher picks 1-2 students.
STEP III
The student who is picked by the teacher is asked to prepare a few questions (best multiple choice questions) referring to the topic introduced during the class.
STEP IV
The teacher explains (if needed) to the student how Mentimeter works.
STEP V
The students prepare the questions. If needed they might ask the teacher for help (e.g., via email).
STEP VI
At the beginning of the next class, the students provide other students with the link to the application and introduce the questions.
STEP VII
Students answer the questions.
STEP VIII
Students may comment on the answers immediately or as a sum up of the exercise – depends on the number of questions.
- Students are involved in class preparation.
- Teachers may find/recognize some gaps and students’ problems with understanding the material – it may turn out that some issues/topics will require revision.
- Students may check their progress.
– Teacher might use this exercise to test and grade students’ knowledge or simply students will test other students
+ The exercise must not be graded; its aim is to realize to the students the progress they have made.
Exercise III: ANY QUESTIONS?
Mentimeter or other devices which enable interaction (e.g., Nearpod, Zoho Show, encaptiv)
Depending on the type of meeting: (lecture, class, seminar).
Main body / Sum up
Online/Face-to-face
Synchronous
- To solve questions/problems which appear during the lecture
- To encourage students to ask questions
Face-to-face: access to Internet and mobile devices is required
Most tools have limited free-of-charge features. Before choosing a tool, it is recommended to check which features are disabled in non-premium versions.
STEP I
During a presentation the teacher might tell the students to ask questions.
STEP II
Students write questions (the use of Mentimeter) which appear on the main presentation slide / screen.
STEP III
The teacher may decide whether the questions appear sequentially or are gathered in one cloud.
STEP IV
Answering the questions:
Variant A: The teacher may answer students’ questions
Variant B: The teacher may engage the students in answering the questions.
STEP I
At the end of a presentation, the teacher might tell the students to ask questions.
STEP II
Students write questions which appear on the main presentation slide / screen.
STEP III
The teacher may decide whether the questions appear sequentially or are gathered in one cloud.
STEP IV
Answering the questions:
Variant A: The teacher may answer students’ questions
Variant B: The teacher may engage the students in answering the questions
- The exercise may help students fight shyness and lack of self-confidence – some students really are afraid of asking questions.
- Thanks to the anonymity of questions, the students realize that their voice matters, i.e., even when students are not afraid of asking questions, they prefer (for different reasons) to remain anonymous.
- The teacher may recognize / find out some gaps, elements which might require revision.
- Students might check their progress.
– The students may ask a lot of questions
+ Before answering the questions, the teacher should group them, as some may concern the same issue. In the case of many questions, the teacher might prepare (after the class) a separate virtual open-access file with answers.
– Some questions may not concern the subject of the class/lecture
+ The teacher skips them but explains to students that they are not topic related.
– Students may not be motivated enough to ask questions
+ The teacher may start the exercises by asking questions concerning the topic, e.g.: Have you paid your attention to…? Don’t you think that…?
Exercise IV: WORD CLOUD
Mentimeter; wordclouds.com
Depending on the type of meeting (lecture, class, seminar)
Main body / sum up
Online/Face-to-face
Synchronous
To gather key words and phrases in order to compile a mini-corpus which might help students during the process of learning and, most importantly, revision.
Face-to-face: access to Internet and mobile devices is required
STEP I
At the beginning of a seminar, class or lecture, the teacher asks students to introduce a word/phrase/date/name /surname/title – all these should refer to previous seminar(s)/lecture(s), e.g.:
- history class: teachers may ask students to write some dates / historical figures / places / events.
- fine arts: teachers may ask students to write (sur)names of artists / names of styles / painting techniques / titles of painting.
- literature class: teachers may ask students to write some key
words/phrases which refer to a particular epoch.
film class: teachers may ask to write titles of films / (sur)names of directors, actors, actresses / genres etc.
STEP II
While typing different words / phrases, the cloud is getting larger (if the number of students is below 20, the teacher may ask students to write more than one).
STEP III
After the cloud is complete, both teacher and students analyse the key words/phrases, correct them, cross the ones which are not appropriate or those which appear more than once.
STEP IV
After the revision with students, the teacher saves the cloud and sends the students a link. Thanks to the access to the cloud, the students can:
- prepare for the final test
- build a corpus of key words / phrases which are related to the subject
- consolidate the material
- The teacher may quickly and effectively revise the material and check the comprehension of information provided in class.
- The teacher may find/recognize some gaps and students’ problems with understanding the material – it may turn out that some issues/topics will require revision.
- Students may follow their progress.
– Saving and managing the cloud (especially when there are several clouds) might turn out to be problematic, as the cloud must be reliable
+ Teacher should either decide for one, two clouds or appoint a student/students who will manage the cloud.
– Exercise is a very good way of consolidating the introduced topic. It may easily become a routine.
+ Should not be introduced in each class / lecture
Exercise V: GALLERY
Padlet
Depending on the type of meeting: (lecture, class, seminar)
Main body / sum up
Online/face-to-face
Synchronous
To gather key words and phrases in order to compile a mini-corpus which might help students during the process of learning and, most importantly, revision.
Face-to-face: access to Internet and mobile devices is required
STEP I
The teacher prepares a padlet with a set of themes, e.g.:
- history class – French Revolution, XX century, WW II, pre-Columbian America, inventions, etc.
- arts class – Pablo Picasso, pointillism, religious art, Brutalist architecture, etc.
- film class – romantic comedy, French cinema, Andrzej Wajda, James Bond, etc.
STEP II
During the seminar/lecture/class, the teacher asks students to elaborate on each theme by adding keywords, dates, pictures, phrases, sentences, etc. The aim is to gather as much information about each theme as possible.
STEP III
After the padlet is complete, both teacher and the students analyse the content; add some additional necessary information, cross out elements which are inappropriate or those which appear more than once.
STEP IV
The teacher saves the clous and and sends the link to the students. Thanks to the access to the padlet, the students:
- have a reliable source which gives information on the themes they have discussed in class.
- can use it for test preparation.
- can consolidate the material.
- The teacher may quickly and effectively revise the material and check the comprehension of information provided in class.
- The teacher may find/recognize some gaps and students’ problems with understanding the material – it may turn out that some issues/topics will require revision.
- Students may fill in the gallery in any place at any time.
- Students may follow their progress.
– Teacher might use this exercise to test and grade students’ knowledge
+ The exercise must not be graded; its aim is to realize to the students the progress they have made
– Saving and managing the gallery, especially the one with open access might turn out to be risky, as students or other users may add elements which do not refer to the topic.
+ Teacher should “visit” the gallery from time to time and, if necessary, improve it.
