LEARNING TO LEARN
As part of this same lesson , I offered a theoretical approach , introducing a menu of illusions of knowing . I previously mentioned an illusion that derived from their familiarity with the content , though this was only one of their challenges . The two other common illusions were those that derive from re-reading texts ( Fluency Illusion ), and that which occurs when studying in pairs or groups ( Social Influence ). I presented studies from the authors in order to make these phenomena more tangible . Students were given an ‘ illusions of knowing ’ menu for their folders and were asked to reflect on whether any of these had occurred after every test . After completing 25 % of the course , 83 % of students said that it was moderately to extremely helpful towards their progress to learn about how their memories function .
In order to support my emphasis on active revision , I allocated all homework slots to creating revision resources . Not only did this increase performance on topic tests ( fig . 1 ), but students expressed that this decreased their anxiety about study leave in Year 11 because they knew that they would finish the course and have a fairly complete set of resources to use . I assisted their process by providing a thorough topic checklist . I wrote in suggestions for how to create resources for narrative content , such as “ make 5 plot-based flashcards that summarise Odysseus ’ experience in Polyphemus ’ cave ”. In class , I modelled how to properly elaborate on the back of a flashcard , without overwhelming it with too much information . After their first attempt at doing this , I reviewed each student ’ s flashcard deck to provide feedback . This was of course time intensive , but I only did this at the beginning , as it was then up to the students to assess whether their resources were effectively preparing them . In class , our revision activities were more lateral , regarding themes and narrative techniques across the Odyssey , while the students ’ flashcards were there to support the factual details of the poem .
89 % of students thought that flashcards were moderately to extremely helpful as revision and improved performance on topic tests . 61 % will continue to use flashcards in this subject and others . The written responses highlighted that creating the materials is a learning experience in itself : “ creation makes you review the materials , and it helps you see where you know more or less ” and “ the process or making also tested my current knowledge ”. Other responses mentioned a clear acknowledgement of the dangers of re-reading as passive : “[ flashcards ] required me to be proactive and make them rather than read the book ”. Eleven out of eighteen students mentioned that they were easy to create and use . Interestingly , ten students said that they were time-consuming ( thus , an overlap of respondents ). However , this is not necessarily a bad thing , as this reflects what we know about desirable difficulties and effortful learning .
I modelled the importance of self-testing by having five question retrieval tasks at the beginning of every lesson . Ninety seconds were allocated to answering ; we reviewed the answers as a group , and no scores were recorded . This low-stakes , highly structured approach was aimed at reducing the anxiety behind quizzing and retrieving past lesson ’ s material . 89 % agreed or strongly agreed that retrieval starters improved performance on topic tests . Figure 1 represents topic test performance in two different GCSE Classical Civilisation cohorts . The second cohort benefited from my developed experience with the course .
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Topic test performances Group 1 Group 2
26.25
22.5
18.75
15 Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 Test 5 Test 6 Test 7 Test 8 Test 9
Figure 1
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