In my previous column, I explored how a very popular form of lesson starter, the quiz as a “do it now” task, was often going wrong. In this column, I’d like to propose a few principles that I found helpful in sharpening my own practice in this area.
Firstly, form should follow the function. Be very clear in your own mind what you want the quiz to achieve.
Is it a form of formative assessment to find out what pupils know and don’t know before the lesson begins so that you can adapt accordingly? In which case, make sure that the questions focus on these key areas.
Use well-planned, multiple-choice questions (where all of the possible answers are equally plausible to someone who hasn’t studied the topic).
Get your retrieval quiz right
This leads us to the second principle: make the quiz quick. If you are using it for formative assessment, have a way to gather information from the whole class.
Going around and asking pupil after pupil for their answer is why these starter tasks often eat up most of the lesson. If pupils have devices, there are a whole range of programs that allow you to gather answers live and to quickly spot those areas where people have struggled. Mini whiteboards can be an effective low-tech alternative, with pupils quickly revealing their answer to each question as you go.
Thirdly, have a plan for how you will respond to what you discover. If pupils don’t have the knowledge they need to tackle the lesson you had intended, what will you do? Do you have the resources ready to reteach aspects of the topic? Do you have examples, analogies and demonstrations to help?
If the pupils don’t need to go back over the topic before this lesson, then homework can be a very helpful way to fill any gaps. Create quick tasks linked to each question that pupils should complete if they got that question wrong. You may be able to link to online lessons or published resources for those who need additional help.
Fourthly, if the function is not assessment but retrieval practice, make sure that your pupils genuinely retrieve the knowledge from their long-term memories and don’t just look back in their books for the answers.
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Struggling to recall something feels uncomfortable. Looking back in your book and being reminded feels comfortable. It is too tempting. Pupils will get the benefit from retrieval quizzes if they push through the discomfort and struggle to retrieve.
Fifthly, pick the questions with care. What did you notice that pupils seemed to struggle with in the previous lesson? What did you have to spend longer explaining than you thought? What are the common misconceptions in this topic? What knowledge from a previous topic or year might help the pupils with the topic they are studying now?
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, get the whole-school structures right. However good a retrieval quiz is, it will only be effective if pupils do it. If there is a culture in the school whereby pupils drift into class as and when they feel like it, the teacher doesn’t stand a chance. The teacher needs to be circulating the room and making sure that no pupils are opting out, waiting for answers to be revealed (rather than waiting at the door and dragging pupils in from the corridors).
There also needs to be time to think about and create these quizzes. This may mean ensuring that there is enough department time for teachers to collaborate on creating and quality assuring these resources. Or it could mean making sure that time isn’t being spent on less productive activities.
Mark Enser is a head of geography in the North West of England and a freelance writer and author
