How can we show progress in a lesson?

1. Whole class feedback How can we show progress in a lesson?

2. Post It Notes Give students post-it notes on which to write answers or reflections. These could be collected in, placed on the board or held up.

3. Mini-Whiteboards Students write their answers on mini-whiteboards. These can be held up to show the teacher and peers. Extend by asking students to assess each other, correct misconceptions or analyse answers.

4. Exit Pass Students are given a slip of paper on which they must write the answer to a question, or series of questions. These are then deposited on the way out, giving the teacher feedback from all students. No exiting if you haven’t got a pass!

5. True/False Cards Laminate a set of cards with true on one side and false on the other. Plan questions around common misconceptions or difficult ideas for students to wave their cards for. Questioning, peer assessment and the like can grow from there.

6. ABCD cards Laminate a set of different coloured cards with A,B,C and D on them. Show students questions related to the topic with four possible answers. Reasons for choices can be followed up, questioned and so on.

7. Thumbs Ask students to show you with their thumbs how well they feel they understand the work. It may be useful to have a display or key such as… I do not feel happy that I understand what we are doing. I would like more help. I feel confident with the work and could explain it to someone else. I understand some of the work, but still have questions or am unsure.

8. Traffic Lights Students have a set of traffic lights they can use to indicate whether they fully understand (green), are in the middle (amber) or are struggling (red). Different materials can be used e.g. pieces of card, plastic cups (students can stack all three and change what is on top), lollipop sticks.

9. Stand-Crouch-Sit Students stand, crouch or sit depending on whether they feel comfortable with the learning, in the middle or unsure. Students who are standing can be asked to go around the room and explain to crouchers, who in turn explain to sitters until, hopefully, everyone in the room is happy to stand up.

10. Post It Divider A variation on the use of post-it notes. Hand them out to students and divide the board or a large piece of paper into categories – What have I learnt; What am I not sure about; What questions do I have Or questions – What is the answer to X?; Where might you use Y? The students reflect on these on the post-its.

11. Continuum Ask students to come and stand on a continuum indicating where they are at from ‘Understand and can explain’ to ‘Need more help to get to grips with it’. If you feel students may be uneasy about standing where they want to, you could use post-its with names on or totally blank (you’ll still get an idea of where the class are at).

12. Partnering Hand out half question cards and half answer cards. Students must then match themselves up in silence. Develop by having a third questions and two thirds answers, with two answers being correct for every one question; sticking questions and answers on students’ backs; questions find questions that lead to the same answer and answers find answers that could be from the same question Follow up by questioning or peer assessment

13. Whiteboard Words Here’s a variation on the mini-whiteboard theme. Give students a limited number of words with which to explain the key points of the lesson or ask them to identify the most important piece of learning. The results may allow you to judge in what directions pupils are taking their learning and how everyone is interacting with the concepts and ideas.

14. Question? Answer Put a question on the board and have different answers around the room. Students go to the one they think is right and justify their decision. Make this easier by having A,B,C,D points or posters in your room. Then you can have the answers on the board as well to save faffing. Develop by getting one member from each answer area to try and convince the others that their answer is right (good for encourage use of reason and uncovering of fallacy, misconceived reasoning etc.)

15. Objective Traffic Lights How do you feel about the lesson objectives? Red = don’t think I have grasped this Amber = feeling OK about this, have just about got there Green = Confident I have achieved this Being specific to the lesson objectives is an alternative way of using the traffic light technique. It sacrifices an holistic, qualitative assessment for a precise, quantitative one.

16. Random Feedback Use dice, short straws, roulette wheel, tombola, guess the number of sweets in the jar, to pick a group (or two) at random to feedback to the whole class on the lesson. This is not whole class feedback per se, but with the random aspect could be used over a number of lessons to achieve the same ends in a slightly different manner.

17. Play-Doh Ask students to model answers to questions using Play-Doh. These will be clearly visible, if potentially esoteric. You could also ask students to model their feeling towards the learning – happy, OK, unsure etc.

18. Silent Debate Write a question or statement on 3-5 sheets of sugar paper. Place these around the room and tell students they must debate them in writing, in silence. Anyone caught talking has 30 seconds out. Students write their own comments and can comment on what their peers write as well. The information on the paper offers an insight into class thinking and could even be tracked by giving out different coloured pens.

19. Evaluation Tree Ask students where they feel they are on the tree in relation to the lesson or topic. Make the tree into a whole-class feedback tool by asking students to put a post-it note on the board for where they are at. Or, print off a large copy get students to write where they are. Could be used subsequently to pair students/make groups.

20. Smiley Faces Students draw smiley faces to indicate how comfortable they are with the topic. Understand some parts but not all Ready to move on Do not understand and need to look at it again You could spend a session with students where they make these, perhaps exaggerating the expressions, and then use them repeatedly.

21. Muddiest Point Another variation on mini- whiteboards. Students write down one or two points on which they are least clear. This could be from the previous lesson, the rest of the unit, the preceding activity etc. The teacher and class can then seek to remedy the muddiness.

22. Seed to Tree This technique draws on drama and asks students to imagine their learning is like the life-cycle of a tree. The tree starts off very small, as a seed, and grows to be very big, as a full tree. Students consider where their learning is at and make the shape appropriate. Full trees can then be sent round to help seeds and saplings develop.

23. Fingers A nuanced version of thumbs and traffic lights. Students hold up fingers accordingly: 1 – I am fully confident with the learning 2 – I am confident with most of the learning 3 – Some parts I am confident with, other bits I am not sure 4 – I am only happy with a few parts of the learning 5 – I am having difficulty understanding any part