SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL REVISION CLASSROOM IDEAS ‘Fun’ and ‘revision’ are not words you’d typically put together. But studying needn’t be boring. Here’s how to make it enjoyable...
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itch the revision charts and highlighter pens. Popular revision techniques – such as rereading, highlighting or summarizing material – are not very effective, especially in the long term, according to researcher Prof John Dunlosky, of Kent State University, US. This is because we better learn and recall information if we connect it to other pieces of
To help them find the fun in mathematics, students at a MathQuest summer camp in Canada learn salsa. Asia Zolnierczyk, IB Diploma Programme (DP) Mathematics Teacher at Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, Ontario, uses salsa to teach students about
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information. He says spacing out study and self-testing are more effective methods. Successful revision can increase performance significantly. But, ultimately, students will rely on what works for them, no matter what the science says. What is essential is that revision keeps attention. IB students and teachers discuss their techniques, which are not just engaging but also fun…
combinations and permutations. This method can be applied to revision. “Dancing pertains to mathematics, because mathematics is just patterning, and that’s what dances are. “After the session, students work in groups to determine how many routines they can make with the five dance moves they learned. I give them different scenarios such as: each dance move needs to be used (permutation without repetition). Or they can repeat dance moves and don’t have to use all of them (permutation with repetition).” Zolnierczyk also incorporates probability questions, regarding the number of students that will create the same routine.
It’s a misconception that drawing is just for art classes. In fact, drawing for information recall is superior to activities such as reading or writing. It encourages us to process information visually, kinesthetically and semantically. This is according to a 2018 study by the University of Waterloo, Canada. Across a series of experiments, researchers confirmed drawing to be a “reliable, replicable means of boosting performance”, increasing recall by nearly double. “Drawing improves memory by promoting the integration of elaborative, pictorial and motor codes, facilitating creation of a context-rich representation,” say researchers. D.B. Dowd, Professor of Art and American Culture at the Washington University in St. Louis, US, adds: “Drawing fosters close observation, analytical thinking and patience.”
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