How to get students to revise effectively.
Plus 4 stages of hard work.
Hello everyone,
“It’s my job to teach you the content. It’s your job to do the work to remember it”.
I still shudder when I hear myself saying that to one of my year 11’s in my second year of teaching. 😱
I mean, I did a degree in Psychology. I did entire units on Memory, Cognition and Brain Development. I should have connected the dots on my own. But the lack of cognitive Science in my teacher training certainly didn’t help.
We’ve come a long way since with our understanding in how we help our brains work, do more and remember more.
Two highlights this week look at exactly that.
We - schools - Are In Beta - always learning.
This week:
🎥 How to get students to revise effectively.
🎧 Hard work - the two stages you don’t consider.
💼 Jobs with We Are In Beta Community members.
🎥 How to get your students to revise effectively - the best techniques and whole school strategy.
Teaching the curriculum is one thing. Getting students to remember it is another. Regular practice and retrieval help. So does revision.
But do your students know how to revise? And do they get the same messages consistently from all departments?
Join us to learn the best revision techniques MEA Central chose according to the evidence and how they rolled out a whole school strategy that increased use, effectiveness and consistency across all stakeholders.
📅 Tues 10th May
🕞 4.15pm
🎧 Hard work - the stages you don’t consider.
The PiXL Pearls Podcast Series 3, produced by We Are In Beta - season finale.
Consider this: “Only in recent history has hard work signalled pride rather shame”.
Psychologist Graham Wallace wrote a book 1926 called the ‘Art of Thought’. He studied the accounts of creative breakthroughs to work out what made them happen.
He concluded that if your brain is given time to think, hard work happens. Revelations occur. Break through moments happen.
He sketched out four stages of hard work.
📝 Preparation - gathering everything you need to know to solve the problem. But sometimes you hit a wall. So you need…
⏲ Incubation - time to think and process to get past the mental block. This can take a few mins, days, weeks and even months. It’s important not to force this by putting in more hours as it just makes us more stressed and tired.
💡Illumination - when your thoughts have been in incubation for long enough. Those ‘aha’ moments that come about from the hard (behind the scenes) work your brain has been doing.
✅ Verification - set the solution on a logical foundation, making all the work your brain has done land.
We’re good recognising preparation and verification as hard work.
But all of four these are “hard” work. But we often don’t recognise incubation and illumination as such.
As busy school leaders and teachers, you might be thinking how do I find the time to sit read and think? Incubate and illuminate?
Tune in for a few powerful but surprisingly simple suggestions.
💼 Jobs with We Are In Beta Community members.
Want the 14k+ people reading this newsletter to see your roles?
System Leadership.
Academy Improvement Partner - Diocese of Coventry MAT. Message Deputy CEO, Amy Bills.
Senior Leadership.
Headteacher - Bridgwater College Academy (Somerset). Message Director of Education, Tamsin Grainger.
Deputy Head (Behaviour, Culture & Ethos) - Blaise High School (North Bristol). Message Head designate, Nat Nabarro.
Vice Principal (Academic) - City of London Academy (Southwark). Message Principal. Mike Baxter.
Deputy Headteacher - Denbigh High School (Luton, Beds). Message Headteacher, Donna Neely-Hayes.
Deputy Headteacher - St James C of E Academy (Bedworth). Message Deputy CEO, Amy Bills.
Vice Principal - Ark Evelyn Grace (Brixton, London). Message Talent Manager, Hannah Plimmer.
Vice Principal and Assistant Principal - Ark John Keats (Enfield, London). Message Headteacher, Katie Marshall.
Assistant Principal - Oxford Spires Academy (Oxford). Message Principal, Jon Hebblethwaite.
Assistant Headteacher (Inclusion) - Bridgwater College Academy (Somerset). Message Director of Education, Tamsin Grainger.
Assistant Headteacher (Inclusion) - Stretton C of E Academy (Willenhall, Coventry). Message Deputy CEO, Amy Bills.
Middle leadership.
Head of English; Assistant Head of Maths - Northampton Academy (Northants). Message Lyn Salmons or Principal, Chris Clyne.
Head of Maths; Business & Economics - The Forest Academy (Redbridge, London). Message Headteacher, Will Mackintosh.
Head of Geography - The Fulham Boys School (Hammersmith), Message Head of RE, Jenny Day.
Subject Leaders: English; RS and PSHE - The Wren School (Reading). Message Headteacher, John Salberg.
Head of Languages - Cornelius Vermuyden School (Essex). Message Lead Practitioner, Bex Walker.
Head of Science - Springwest Academy (Hounslow) - Message Vice Principal, Craig Adams.
Assistant Director Maths - Queensbury Academy (Dunstable, Bedfordshire). Message Principal, Mark Little or Maths School Improvement Lead, Carleen Masson.
Lead Practitioner Science - Lord Grey Academy (Milton Keynes). Message Associate Principal, Samantha Satyanadhan.
Teaching.
English; Maths, Science - Northampton Academy (Northants). Message Lyn Salmons or Principal, Chris Clyne.
Maths; MFL; Science - Etone College (Nuneaton, Warks). Message Head of Science, Derek Clinton.
Geography - The Fulham Boys School (Hammersmith), Message Head of RE, Jenny Day.
D&T, Drama - The Wren School (Reading). Message Headteacher, John Salberg.
Interested in these roles?
Send the people who posted them a message to find out more. But first…
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@NiallAlcock and the We Are In Beta team
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