Learning as a grassy path

A typical lesson with me will involve a recap of prior learning. Teaching something once and then never revisiting it does not work. Think of learning and memory as a grassy path. If you walk over a field of grass once, nothing changes. If you walk over the same stretch again and again, eventually a path will form and remain long-term. Learning is similar. To secure new knowledge and skills to your long-term memory, you need to practise over a long period of time. If you do not practise, whatever it is that you have been working on is likely to be forgotten, just like how a path which doesn't get walked on will eventually grass over.

After the recap, I will then explain and model the thing I want the children to learn before giving them an opportunity to engage in deliberate practice. During this time, I observe, ask questions and assess to check for understanding. Almost all lessons will finish with a homework task linked to that lesson. I prefer written homework tasks as that is how children are assessed in school. Still, I also see the value in online homework, especially the fact that children usually receive instant feedback.

I cannot emphasise enough just how important practice is and the power of practice is something that I believe is overlooked in schools. One of the reasons children struggle in school, particularly maths, is that they’re not given enough time to practise what has been taught in that lesson, nor do they get enough opportunities to revisit practise things in the previous week/term/year.