Talking Heads

Talking Heads is an excellent activity to use at the start or end of a lesson. This activity promotes discussion and is great with an opinion based topic. It is played by the teacher placing images on the board of people’s heads and these heads have a statement coming out of them in the form of a speech bubble.

The statements could be opinions or common misconceptions. The learners need to think about each statement and comment on whether they agree or disagree and explain their decision.

This is a great activity to engage learners because it encourages them to have the courage of their convictions. This builds confidence and allows the learner to feel comfortable to challenge the status quo.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Independent thinking	Time required to plan well
Decision making	Knowledge of common misconceptions required
Problem solving
Collaborative working
Can be used as a starter or plenary
Cross curricular

Although it takes time to foresee any potential pitfalls, this activity generally has a lot of positives so should definitely be considered as a lesson starter. It also gives a really useful insight into how much initial knowledge of the new subject that the learners are bringing with them.

Here is an example of Talking Heads:

Verbal Tennis

This is an excellent teaching technique which is both engaging and can be used an effective assessment for learning tool. During a game of Verbal Tennis a group of students will take it in turns to say words related to the topic being taught. The individual who cannot think of a word is out or loses the game.

Verbal Tennis can be taken further by getting students to take it in turn to make statements about a topic instead of a key word. It is very diverse as it can be used with any year group and any subject; it merely requires the individual to listen and speak, something that comes naturally to students but with the added advantage of an intellectually challenging game and a puzzle like experience.

An even more elaborate way of playing Verbal Tennis is to allow students to ask questions back and forth. The rules are simple: ask a question, do not repeat the question, the question must be relevant to the subject and do not directly answer the question. An example of Verbal Tennis based on questions:

Player 1 – Are you okay?

Player 2 – Do I not look okay?

Player 1 – If I knew, why would I ask?

Player 2 – Why do you care whether I’m okay or not?

Player 1 – Am I being rude by asking? 

And so on...

Pros Of Verbal Tennis	Cons Of Verbal Tennis
Cross curricular	Level of noise must be effectively managed
Minimal planning required	Difficult to determine if students are off task
Enhances speaking and listening skills	Students who lose the game early can become idle
Easily differentiated
Can be used as a starter or plenary
Can be used as an assessment tool

Learning Quizzes

Quizzes have been used as a teaching tool for hundreds of years. They are an effective method of assessing students’ understanding. Quizzes also provide a platform for feedback, for example: once the students have completed the quiz and marked it, the teacher could ask the class how many students got 100%/50%/25% etc. this gives the teacher immediate feedback on the effectiveness of the teaching activity. Quizzes can be used at the start, middle and end of a lesson and is compatible with any subject.

In order to make quizzes more engaging, it is advisable to use RAG cards, this will correspond well with a multiple choice quiz. For questions which involve written answers, a mini white board could be used.
 Quiz questions can include: multiple choice questions, short answer questions, one word answers, ABCD answers, image-label matching questions.

For the tech savvy teachers, the latest quizzes involve using ICT to aid the activity. Kahoot is the most well-known application. Kahoot is a discussion, quiz, survey website which is an incredible classroom tool. Pre made quizzes or self-made quizzes can be made; students enter a pin code on any internet device at kahoot.it and enter their name. The teacher will project the question on the board and students get feedback once everyone has answered. The teacher can get a quiz score report data analysis and subsequent planning. This activity can be used as an exit card, get students opinions or get the sides for a debate.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Effective assessment for learning	Time required to make the quiz
Variety of questions	Behaviour must be controlled for them to work
ICT can be incorporated
Immediate feedback on results
Can be used at any part of the lesson

 

Flash Cards

Flash cards are an incredibly versatile tool to use in any class room. They have information on one side followed by a question on the other side.

Learners read the information and use what they have just learnt to answer the question. Some flash cards have a question on one side and the answer, with an accompanying explanation, on the other side.

These sorts of cards are commonly used as a revision tool to consolidate learning. They can be used in the classroom as part of a planned activity or during independent study.

The process of active recall is promoted using flash cards and the Leitner system for scheduling them is an invaluable tool in the learning process. The cards that the learner is confident with are placed at the bottom of the pack which promotes the lesser known cards to the top so that they can be more frequently reviewed.

Flash cards are adaptable and can also be directly made by the learners. They can be colour coded to coincide with different topics, key words can be highlighted and multiple choice answers can be included to further enhance the learning experience.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Exercises the mental process of active recall	Time consuming to make
Engages learners easily	Lost or damaged cards need to be replaced
Appeals to kinaesthetic learners	Cards may need laminating for longevity
Can be easily differentiated and reused
Cross curricular

There is a wide range of software, both open source and online services which enables you to create your own flash cards to use as a learning aid. Find out more by clicking here.