Thanks to "
Make It Stick" and "
Small Teaching", we're learning to incorporate regular retrieval of background knowledge, previously learned skills, and the making of connections between the skills. By using daily Distributed Practice, regular Exit Tickets, and daily collaborative questioning, we're seeing our Learners make significant connections between concepts. Some of our Exit Tickets are in paper form, though more and more are done using Google Forms. When our Exit Tickets are in a Google Form, Learners get immediate feedback to their thinking and often have the opportunity to reassess after they've acquired that feedback. Each time they launch our Google Form, the questions are jumbled to keep the thinking fresh and dynamic. Many of our Google Forms use checkboxes that allow for multiple answers. Using this approach, Learners are prompted to think more thoroughly and to include all responses that suit the prompt.
We've seen our Learners make such great connections, assimilating learning, and being engaged in our learning that we've been able to move ahead of our curriculum maps! Our Learners are always encouraged to reassess to demonstrate their highest proficiency on each Standard or Learning Target in our Standards-Based Learning environment. When our Learners reassess, they often experience aha-moments in seeing how our learning is related, connected, or how it's interwoven. "Make It Stick" and "Small Teaching" are inspiring greater teaching, assessing, and learning.
